Telia Company acts for sustainable development

2017-05-18

Telia is one of the leading Swedish companies joining forces to support the implementation of global sustainable development. Ahead of the UN’s Ocean Conference, the companies have agreed to address the inter-linkages between land and sea in their core operations.

Through the SIDA network “Swedish Leadership for Sustainable Development”, the CEO’s of Sweden’s most influential multinational companies and expert organizations collaborate to support the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Telia joined the network earlier this year and is committed to contribute to the work.

"Through digitalization, we are providing a path, sometimes even a fast track, to reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We see endless possibilities with Internet of Things and how digital solutions can be used to solve societal challenges,” says Anne Larilahti, Head of Sustainability at Telia Company.

Statement on safeguarding the world’s oceansAt the network’s annual meeting today, attended by Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria and former UN Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson, the companies benchmarked and discussed a common position on the UN Sustainable Development Goal 14, which aims to safeguard the world’s seas and oceans, ahead of UN’s Ocean Conference in June.

In a statement, the companies agreeed to “acknowledge that our own activities can have an indirect or direct impact on the sea. In our continued efforts to contribute to sustainable production and consumption, we each commit to addressing the inter-linkages between land and sea in our core operations and, in doing so, systematically minimizing the negative environmental impact related to SDG 14”.

Telia is a strong supporter of the statement, Larilahti says. “As life on land and life of the oceans are always connected, we see that the power of digitalization in terms of fighting climate change and improving energy efficiency across industries has an impact on the health of our oceans. IoT enables innovation in areas directly impacting the oceans, ranging from more efficient sea transport to better management of plastic waste”.